PBIT margins drop from 13.17% in FY02 to 6.90%
The cement industry developed cracks in its bottomline during 2002-03 even as players were busy in capacity consolidation.
The top 10 cement firms in India, accounting for 70 per cent of the industry capacity, recorded an aggregate 47 per cent decline in profit margins before interest and tax (PBIT) in fiscal 2003.
The PBIT margins of cement majors declined from 13.17 per cent in 2001-02 to 6.90 per cent in 2002-03.
All major players including Grasim, Larsen & Toubro, ACC, Gujarat Ambuja Cement, Century Textiles showed a sharp decline in PBIT margins.
The cement division of Larsen & Toubro, for which Grasim has proposed to pay Rs 2,200 crore, reported PBIT margins of 6.55 per cent in 2002-03 compared with 10.39 per cent in 2001-02.
Grasim too slipped with PBIT margins declining from 16.23 per cent in FY02 to 10.15 per cent in FY03.
ACC recorded the lowest PBIT margins among the top five cement players. Its margins declined to 6.08 per cent in FY03 from 12.03 per cent in FY02.
Kesoram Cement managed to record profit margins of 0.26 per cent from a healthy 18.76 per cent in FY02. Century Textiles margins declined 2.63 per cent from 9.77 per cent.
Gujarat Ambuja Cement, which continued to outperform the sector in PBIT margins, too recorded decline in profit margins.
During the 9 months ended March , the company
